Coast Guard, Air Force rescue 11 people from plane crash off Florida coast
The U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force helped rescue 11 people from a life raft this week after the plane they were on crashed off the east coast of Florida.
The plane was flying between two Bahamian islands — from Great Abaco to Grand Bahama — at about 11 a.m. Tuesday when it crashed due to engine failure, the Coast Guard said in a release.
At the time of the crash, a combat search and rescue helicopter from Patrick Space Force Base, 60 miles southeast of Orlando, was already in the air on a training mission, the Air Force said in a release.
The Coast Guard sent out its own air crew, and Patrick sent out additional personnel to help with the search.
An Air Force helicopter spotted the crash scene in the Atlantic Ocean about 80 miles east of Melbourne, Florida, and lifted the 11 survivors, all Bahamian adults, the Air Force said.
Three of the plane passengers suffered minor injuries, according to The Associated Press.
Air Force Capt. Rory Whipple said that by the time the raft was found, the survivors “had already been in the raft for about five hours. You could tell just by looking at them that they were in distress. Physically, mentally and emotionally. … They didn’t even know we were coming (to rescue them) until we were directly overhead,” according to Miami’s WFOR-TV.
After hoisting the survivors, the Air Force helicopter flew them to emergency medical services at Melbourne Orlando International Airport. They’re in stable condition, the Air Force said.
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